Ideas for Handmade Primitive Ornaments

Use a cookie cutter to make a tree ornament.

Primitive decor dates from the Colonial era, when make-do was the tradition for holiday decorating, and humble, everyday items were cleverly transformed into symbols of the season. Scavenged junk and scraps became ornaments to festoon a tree or a wreath, hang in a window or hook over the edge of the mantel. You can capture some of that primitive charm with your own cobbled-together baubles for a rustic, old-fashioned Christmas.

Primitive Angels

You can never have too many angels. Hang them from the tree or the edge of the mantel. Loop a tie around a candlestick to dangle a tiny angel; cluster angels around a door wreath. Make primitive angels by bending and twisting grapevine into a small round head, figure-8 wings and a large round body. Tie a skinny strip of red and green plaid fabric into a loopy bow about where the angel's hands would be and catch a tiny sprig of holly berries in the ribbon. Or "dress" a wooden spoon in a muslin "gown"; poke cinnamon stick arms out from the sleeves and join them with a tiny spray of fake mistletoe; and use glue to attach it all. Add a set of unbleached muslin wings, stretched over pipe cleaners so they hold their shape, and glue a hanger to the back of the spoon to fasten it to the tree.

Shabby Baubles

Rip muslin, linen and cotton fabric into strips. The more homespun the fabric appears, the more your ornaments will look genuinely primitive. Let the ragged threads hang loose. Wrap the strips around and around small foam balls the size of medium Christmas tree ornaments. Secure the fabric to the hard foam here and there with dressmaker's pins. Loop a piece of twine tie it in a circle; and pin a loop to each fabric-wrapped bauble to hang on garlands, wreaths or the tree.

Starched Gingerbread

You can catch this gingerbread man -- a fabric cutout slightly tortured into ornamental shape. Use cookie cutters to trace a gingerbread man on a double thickness of needle-punched cotton batting. Paint the batting with a solution of white school glue, cinnamon, ground cloves and a small amount of water, mixed well, to stain it gingerbread color. Add a tablespoon or so of leftover morning coffee to make it browner. Once the glue has dried, dip the ginger in melted wax scented with holiday spices -- an essential oil works well -- and more ground cinnamon. Let the gingerbread man harden as the wax cools. Then tie a piece of hemp twine or a ragged scrap of plaid cotton around his "neck" and secure a tiny bit of evergreen in the twine. Hook an ornament hanger in the back of the twine.

Strings and Springs

Slice lemons, limes, apples, oranges, pears and grapefruit into 3/4-inch thick pieces; try to slice the apples and pears the long way so each slice still has the shape of the fruit. Slow-bake at 175 degrees Fahrenheit on a cookie sheet in the oven for 6 or 7 hours to dehydrate the fruit, turning the slices occasionally so they don't burn. Cool and poke a hole in the top of each slice before coating it with clear craft varnish. Push an ornament hanger through the hole and hang the fruit on a garland with fairy lights and strings of popcorn. Add more dried fruit ornaments to the tree along with rusty candy canes made from rusted springs, bent into a curve at the top, and sprayed with several coats of clear fixative or lacquer to contain the rust safely. Embellish cane-springs just below the curve with a red or green button on a scrap of torn plaid cotton, tied like a muffler. Use care when bending the springs, and wear gloves during the process.

About the Author

Benna Crawford has been a journalist and New York-based writer since 1997. Her work has appeared in USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, and in professional journals and trade publications. Crawford has a degree in theater, is a certified Prana Yoga instructor, and writes about fitness, performing and decorative arts, culture, sports, business and education .